Unbiased Answers on Flea Pest Control for You and Your Beloved Pet

Flea Pest Control Advice on Avoidance & Population Management

There are 3 species of flea in the UK, the most common is Ctenocephalides Felis or cat flea.

Fleas are very small; around 2mm in length, and whilst they cannot fly, their powerful back legs enable them to jump up to around 100 times their own height and length.

Fleas are parasites and feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals, which are referred to as hosts.  Such hosts include cats, dogs, and humans.

Flea eggs hatch into larvae after around one week, which feed on a diet of skin particles and adult flea faeces, which is digested blood known as “flea-dirt”.

Here at Avon Pest Control, we understand how fleas can be a really unpleasant problems for both You and your Beloved pets.

Here is How & Why You need Rigorous Flea Pest Control?

Whilst flea bites themselves are not painful, they can become very itchy and uncomfortable.

In some cases, the skin of the surrounding area becomes inflamed and sore.

Fleas can also carry tapeworm larvae, which can grow to an adult size within your pet’s intestines if the fleas are ingested during grooming.

Additionally, some pets are hypersensitive to flea saliva, with can result in a very itchy reaction.

Common British Skin Parasites

Flea Identification

Fleabites can be mistaken for bedbug bites as they both cause round red bumps to form on the skin’s surface.

Bedbug bites usually present as 3 or 4 bites in a line or a curve, usually on parts of the body which are exposed during the night, e.g. face, neck and back.

Flea bites are generally located lower down on the body, e.g. legs and ankles.

Please seek veterinary advice if you suspect your pet has become a host.

Pet Flea Identification

You may notice small black specs on your pet’s coat; this may be flea dirt.

Brush your pet’s coat, allowing the specs to fall onto damp white tissue.

If the specs stay black, it is some other grit-like material, but if the specs produce a red mark, it is flea dirt.

Once the presence of fleas/flea bites have been identified, Avon Pest Control strongly recommend that you contact a flea pest control expert as soon as possible.

Flea Eradication

Do-it-yourself methods of flea removal can be helpful in the short term but may prove ultimately unsuccessful; missed eggs can mean the infestation begins again.

Regularly treating your pet with an anti-flea product can help, but is often not sufficient to interrupt the flea’s life cycle; you may eradicate the existing population of fleas using your pet as a host, but hundreds of microscopic eggs can be laying in wait on your carpet, or even on your pet itself.

At Avon Pest Control, we have expert knowledge of the flea’s life cycle and can effectively treat your environment.

As fleas are the intermediate host for tapeworms, it is important to remember to treat your infected pet for both fleas and tapeworms.

Flea Pest Control & Prevention is Better than Cure

It can be difficult to prevent your pets from contracting fleas.

However, there are some preventative measures you can take to reduce the risk of a flea infestation at your home.

• Schedule a flea treatment for your pet.
  • To keep your home free of fleas, keep your pets flea-free!
  • Apply veterinary approved flea products and treatments to your pet as regularly as advised, e.g. every 4-8 weeks for dogs.
• Act fast!
  • If you see fleas on your pet, treat them quickly!
  • This will also help avoid contracting tapeworms or other diseases.
• Vacuum daily!
  • Vacuum the areas your pet uses.
  • Pay special attention to carpeted areas near the places where your pet tends to sleep.
  • Inspect any furniture your pet enjoys lying on.
  • These are good way of removing eggs, larvae and pupa, which disturbs the fleas lifecycle.
• Clean bedding
  • Wash your pet’s bedding regularly
  • Make sure the washer is set to ‘hot’.
• Keep a tidy garden
  • Mow your lawn,
  • Rake and sweep up all leaves.
• Kick up a stink!
  • Citrus, peppermint, and clover oils help to repel fleas.

Fed up of fleas?  Call Avon Pest Control today, for professional advice, information, and removal/treatment pricing.